Card. Rai to Visit Saudi Arabia in 'Historic' First for a Christian Leader

The journey will last one day and should take place "within the next two weeks". The cardinal welcomed an invitation from Saudi leadership, which did not impose particular "conditions". A visit that fits in with the changes underway in the ultraconservative kingdom. Lebanon confirms the role of "bridge" to the Arab world.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - Maronite patriarch, Card. Bechara Raï has announced that he will visit Saudi Arabia within the next two weeks, responding to the official invitation from Saudi king Salman and the hereditary prince, and number two in the country, Mohammad bin Salman.

This is the first historic visit by a Lebanese church leader to the ultraconservative Wahhabi kingdom, which has recently launched a series of economic and social reforms, including the opening up of sports arenas and driving to women, as well as the first attempts at emancipation from the fundamentalist view of Islam.

In an interview with Lebanese State TV, Card. Raï confirmed the invitation from the highest Saudi authorities, pointing out that "no special conditions were set for the visit" which "will last one day". "My role - added the Cardinal - is not political and everyone knows who the Maronite patriarch is."

The Lebanese Christian leader remembers that in the past, in 2013, he had received an invitation to visit Riyadh from the former monarch, King Abdallah. However, this trip was never possible, he adds, "for a variety of [non-defined] issues."

In the last period, the Saudi kingdom has initiated a series of reforms, forcefully taken by the hereditary prince, in the context of the "Vision 2030" program that invests in the social, economic, cultural and religious sphere. Historians and analysts recall that Card. Raï’s will be "the first visit of a Christian religious leader since... the time of the Prophet's ". In the past.....

Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman:

“We are simply reverting to what we followed – a moderate Islam open to the world and all religions. 70% of the Saudis are younger than 30, honestly we won’t waste 30 years of our life combating extremist thoughts, we will destroy them now and immediately.”

Muhammad bin Salman is behind this weekend's purge of many other princes (his cousins), Osama bin Laden's brother, and other important businessmen in Saudi Arabia. His grandfather Ibn Saud founded the modern Saudi state and also promoted the rabid Wahhabi strain of Islam that was followed by the 9/11 terrorists and so many other Muslim radicals in the last few decades.

If Bin Salman is now actually following up on his words with actions like inviting prominent Christians into Saudi Arabia and rolling back the Wahhabism his grandfather made such a force in the Muslim world, I'd expect he'll soon be facing a massive Muslim backlash and violence. Interesting times ahead for Saudi Arabia, but this crown prince of theirs bears watching.

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